Forbes – Is Uncle Sam Really the Greatest Entrepreneur of All Time?

A new book titled The Entrepreneurial State that is now making the rounds gives credit to Uncle Sam for inventing many of the technologies we enjoy today, from the Internet to smartphones. It has given fuel to proponents of government grants, subsidies, and mandates for technologies like solar cells, windmills, electric cars, algae fuel, and cellulosic ethanol. Here, they claim, is justification for continued support of money-losing businesses that one day will be commonplace and profitable, yet might never exist at all without government support.

But getting past the sound-bites, the case for expanded technology subsidies is based on several propositions that require examining.

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